José Mourinho believes he is better prepared to succeed as Chelsea manager second time around. At the start of a three-match south-east Asia tour, Mourinho said: "My job is a job where experience means a lot. I have had two years in Italy and three in Spain, it makes me a better coach. I am in better condition than I was last time.

"I have some white hairs but in my case that's a good sign. It means I am better now than before. But I am still very sad and unhappy when my team doesn't win – it's up to the players to help me get the results I want."

Mourinho has already had an impact, sanctioning the previously agreed transfer of André Schürrle, completing a surprise purchase of the veteran Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer and capturing a player for whom he has high hopes, the 20-year-old Marco van Ginkel.

"Marco is one of the best prospects in European football right now," said Mourinho. "I have been following him for a long time. He has great potential. We do not have to press him too much in the beginning because we want to help him settle into the Premier League. Chelsea is investing in the long term and this kid has a great future."

Chelsea's arrival in Thailand marks the start of their preparations for a campaign in which many feel they could exploit the changes at Manchester United and Manchester City and land only their second title since Mourinho left in 2006.

The uncertainty at Stamford Bridge is not with the manager, but rather his willingness to embrace the Barcelona-style tiki-taka which Juan Mata, Oscar and Eden Hazard can so obviously provide.

Mata and Oscar are not on the trip, having been given additional time off due to their Confederations Cup commitments with Spain and Brazil respectively, and Chelsea's experienced keeper Petr Cech is taking nothing for granted.

"It is very difficult to predict what is going to happen before the season has even started," he said. "They are all great teams who have kept their players together and improved them by buying some more players.

"Although they have new managers, the teams are the same. And there is new motivation with a new manager, so they can be more dangerous."

Chelsea confirmed on Thursday afternoon that the Spanish midfielder Oriol Romeu would return to his homeland with Valencia on a season-long loan.

Romeu joins Marko Marin, Thibaut Courtois and Patrick van Aanholt in agreeing temporary moves away from west London but Romelu Lukaku, who impressed while on loan at West Bromwich Albion last year, is likely to remain a member of Mourinho's squad.